


Moonlight and Sunshine

by aeonouji



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Multi, Other, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, does it get resolved the answer is nah, lots of making out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-03-09 01:49:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18907039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeonouji/pseuds/aeonouji
Summary: The two of you were as different as night and day it seemed. But perhaps, it was just because you were just busy with part of the picture and not the whole piece.(PREQUEL TO LO SIENTO)





	1. prologue: angelic faces hide cruel intentions

**Author's Note:**

> originally I had written this with the intention of explaining how you two met in lo siento but that would change the flow drastically. so I decided this way would be better for flow sake.  
> Also I had to quote a handful of William Blake and like one part of act one scene five of Romeo and Juliet. Lemme tell you, it is rough for someone who isn't really fond of poetry to read through. but if V's va ever does an audiobook of him reading poetry, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the start of it all, you were here on the request of a friend you thought of like a brother.

"Go to Red Grave?" Nero didn't want to involve you like this. However, he needed the insurance policy of someone being able to help if he failed. You were the first to come to mind.

"Yeah, I'm already here, so you just gotta evacuate people," he lies. If he told you the truth, you would want the whole story-- something he really didn't have time for. You would worry for his well being and then it would be like having an angrier Kyrie around him. Plus, you would actually beat his ass if he so much as breathed the wrong way.

"I mean," you pause, "alright, what can I do to help?"

"Great," he does a small fist pump, "Just wait with Morrison in the downtown square."

"Fine," next come the exasperated sigh, "Anything for you, yeah?"

 

"Penny for your thoughts, sir?" The short hooded figure asks. Morrison can see the wrapped sword up on the hooded figure's back. The holster slightly bulging out at their side is obvious to a discerning eye. However, amongst the crowd, the figure blended in just fine. The short figure grins before taking off the hood. 

You tugged your hood off just enough to reveal your face. He wasn't comfortable with the way you easily adapted to situations. As you looked around, you guided a few small families out of the area. You even took your time to direct other civilians out. Your commands were calm and direct. As the crowd whittled down to a few stragglers, you made your way back over.

"It's been a while, what since the Fortuna incident?"

"You were still sporting a skirt, if memory serves."

"And you had less gray in your beard," you look up to the large tree sprouting out of the ground, "Things hardly change around that man and his group."

You rock on your heels with your hands buried in your pockets. As debris flies in your direction, you slice through it. Your rapier drawn, as you return to salute. You sigh before removing the cover from your back. Dumping the bag upside down drops the sheath. You kick the sheath up into the air before it lands on your sword. You turn to Morrison with a smile.

"But unlike that man, I've changed since then, so please refrain from calling me anything feminine."

"Any other requests, my good  _ man _ ?"

"The situation," you bow with a flourish, "If you would."

Before Morrison can get a word in, Nero and Dante's client come bursting through. Falling through the air, they land with ease. You give a wave before turning and walking away. Your hands returning to your pockets before Nero walks over.

"I'll play it by ear," you call, "Tell Nero I'll be clearing the flock!"

 

_ May 18th 02:30 pm. _

You huffed a sigh. So much for clearing out the rubber-necking sheep. You could hear the screaming from downtown. You even told all the civilians to clear out. But, as you walk around the shambles of the city, you could see dead people dust. In the air, fluttering in the sky, and those gross blood roots were everywhere. You break open an abandoned car, the glass at your feet as you spot the book of matches sitting atop the dash.

You got what you could. Not to mention this wasn't what you wanted to deal with. Luckily, you weren't working. You only had this job going for you anyway. A hum leaves your throat when you hear a loud squawk. You don't turn to the sound. Probably a poor bird getting killed. Rest in pieces bird. Footsteps come closer to your direction as you walk towards the ever familiar shop. Fuck, where was Devil May Cry again..? Did that man even have a functioning phone? Maybe it'd be better to head back downtown.

"Fuck," you curse, "I'm fuckin' lost, and my damn gun is jacked up."

"Are you lost, Little Wanderer?" Oh, that was a voice you could get used to. Deep and gravelly, if you weren't in the middle of something you would turn to see the face of such a damn hot voice. Speak more  _ please _ , you almost say aloud. You don't reply. Or you'd like to say you don't.

"Daddy always told me not to speak to strangers," boy, you're glad you still had enough range to fake being a child. Especially with your short stature. You really did want to hear him speak more. So, what's a little fun? Your hand is already on your baby. Your lovely rapier, you liked to call her Morrigan. The stranger takes a step forward.

"You and I both know you're far beyond the age to listen to 'daddy'."

"Well, maybe you just want me to call  _ you _ Daddy instead?" You return back to your actual voice. Your worst line. The stranger gives a chuckle. A hand pulls the hood off of you head with a gentle tug. The feel of sunlight on your bare neck is not what you wanted right now. You start to turn your head to glare at the man. His fingers tangle at your hair while pulling slightly. You really want to glare at the man. Before you can, he decides to chuckle darkly before speaking.

"Don't worry...if such were the case, I'd be gentle."

"We haven't even established a safe word yet," you quip. Slap yourself now, please. Now wasn't the time to be swapping innuendo when Nero was waiting on your call at the next phone booth you found. Not to mention, you wanted to be done with this bullshit. You were only doing recon on the area.

"Perhaps we should make it my name?"

"Mm, or we could have you buy me dinner first," you poke the scabbard into what you think is his stomach. He releases his hold on you. That damn chuckle rears its head again. You pull your hood back over your head. You turn to face the man. You're greeted to a lanky man clad in all black. From what you can see, he's inked from neck to wrist. With black hair almost covering one eye, he oozes a preteen's goth dream. Well, if he weren't so bony and deathly pale. He approaches you. His hand finding yours.

As those bony fingers draw your hand to his lips, you find yourself flinching. With a smile on his lips, he kisses your knuckles. After a moment, the stranger speaks, " _ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. _ "

"Hah! William Blake? You couldn't just normal flirt before taking your leave?" You snatch your hand away. You knew you were just saving face. Of course, with the hood obscuring your face, you hid your reddening cheeks well. Better haul ass out of here. Without a word, you make your way past him back to downtown. Purposefully hitting his shoulder to assert your dominance. You kept your head down.

"Come near me again and I'll slice that smarmy smirk off your face, Edgar Allen Poe."

To prove your point you slice a nearby lamppost in half.

 

V stares at your form retreating. Nero had requesting he retrieve you and guide you to Nico's van. Who was V to deny Nero when the boy nearly pleaded? Perhaps, the encounter could have gone better. Yet, he found himself interested in you. When Nero had called you, you seemed to be more civil. His exchange told him otherwise. Your hot-tempered attitude leaked through your flirtatious words, and your posture was haughty. Despite your attempt at remaining calm, he couldn't help but laugh. Griffon flies down to V's side.

"Looks like we got another brat."

"We'll see he-  _ them _ again."

"What makes ya say that, Shakespeare?"

"If what Nero said is true, then it is already written."

Griffon flies past towards their direction. Shadow following shortly behind.

"Whatever you say, I'm pretty sure you just wanna flirt again."

V smirks. Perhaps he did find you amusing. He would much prefer to break your composure down and see what lies beneath.

"Let us make haste."


	2. starting off on the worst foot

“Fuckin’ hell Nico, you trying to kill me?” You groan as your legs were up against the window. Your head on the seat of the couch as Nico came to an abrupt stop. Fumbling to get back into an upright position, you struggle to get out of the metal death trap she called hers. You kick the door open and groan. Noticing Nero in front of you, you sigh.

 

“Heyo Nears,” you greeted as you leaned against Nico's trailer. A slight wave of the hand and a lopsided smile were really all you could give. The thin rapier rested at your side while Nico messed around with your gun. Formal training wanted you to call it a weapon. But hey, you weren't in training anymore and this was field work.

He greets you with a grunt and heads back into her van. Behind him is a lanky goth stranger. Nico pokes her head out of the driver side. The two bicker about the piece of demon that Nico had just smelled like it was a piece of some recipe. Though, she did do the same as you handed her the arm of something you cut to shreds earlier.

As they bickered for longer, you caught a glance of the goth standing right beside the van.

“Hey there,” you turn to greet him, something about him didn't settle with you, “can I help you with something or are you just gonna pretend like you're not looking at me?”

He merely smiles and heads into the van. He does look at you one last time before giving you a slight nod and taking a seat on Nico's trailer couch. You always wondered how that fit with all the tools lying around.

 

“Nears, you got a sec?” You place a hand on Nero's shoulder while Nico talks up V. You brought your voice down to a hush as he glances up at you from the passenger seat. You furrow your brows at his nonchalance.

“What's up?” He piques.

You're nonplussed at how relaxed he is with this _stranger_ in the trailer. When you first saw the two, you were ready to make a joke about Nero cheating on Kyrie with the pretty stranger but bit your tongue for the sake of formality. V was someone you couldn't read. Your eyes flicker over to V's form and back to Nero.

“Oh, yeah, that’s Dante's client,” he pauses for a moment, “apparently paid money upfront.”

“That's not a reason to let him into this van.”

“What are you, the van police?”

“No but I am very unsure about tall, goth, and lanky over there.”

You jut your chin over in V's direction. Your voice still reduced to a hush as V notices you look in his direction. You lean against Nico's counter and cross your arms. You fiddle with your half-sleeves and look down at Nero's boots.

Nero raises a brow at this. He turns his head slightly to glance in Nico's direction. She looks like she's having a good time. Then again, Nico always looks like that. He grins when he notices your awkwardness.

“You like V, don't you?”

“The fuck I look like Nears,” you huff and lightly kick his boot, “Look, call it paranoia but I don't like him.”

“His voice is your type.”

Your sneaker makes full on contact with his shin. Mostly because you're insulted that he think you'd give V the time of day. Partly because he was kind of right.

 

“I don't believe we've been properly introduced.”

“Mhm.” You hum as you fiddle with the collar around your neck. Your fingers fiddle with the chain attached. Pulling the chain taut to play with the silver ring hanging off. Your eyes refuse to make contact with his. You can hear him flip through that book of his. Pretentious. You stop playing with your necklace and cross your arms as you leaned against the van.

“ _Nor for itself hath any care_ ,” he quotes, “ _but for another gives its ease_.”

You hum again, more disinterested. Your eyebrows raise while the rest of your face remained bored. The oversized fowl flys down onto V's shoulder. For a moment, you want to quip about Edgar Allan Poe but the exact words escape you. You meet his eyes this time. Though, you do have to look up because shit, this guy towered over you.

“And that means..?”

“Means he's trying to make nice,” the large chicken caws, “but you won't give ‘im the light of day.”

The statement doesn't sit right with you. He was right. You wouldn't. Doesn't mean he could say he was “making nice” though. You get off the trailer to stand chest to chest with V. Your frown deepens as you look up to speak to him, “I don't trust you, earn that right Sunshine, and maybe just _maybe_ I'll give you my name.”

You walk past him, your shoulder brushing against his bare arm as you walk off to survey the area. You double back for your gun and then promptly leave, keeping your head down. Good job trying to cool, dummy.

 

“Ooh, I like them.” Griffon notes, mirth in his voice. V hums as he stands straight, his cane in hand. His book in the other.

“So, what's the plan _Sunshine_?” His tone is mocking when he echoes the nickname given to V from your lips. V smirks and taps his cane once, twice, and a third time on the cracked pavement before answering.

“Shall we gain the little wanderer's trust?” He mulls before following after you. He swings his cane idly as he walks. He notes the precise slices and piercing in the abandoned cars left in your stead. Perhaps he had more of an effect on you than he thought.

 

“‘-maybe, just _maybe_ I'll give you my name?’” You groan as you vent your frustration on a demon's carcass. Your blade taking precise strikes at its limbs as you groaned at your own words in a nasally tone. As it screeches, you promptly cut off its head. Flicking the blood off your blade, you sit on a car hood with your face buried in your hands.

You groan before swiping your free hand down your face. That was the last one in the area for now. Caught in your own thoughts you mentally smack yourself. Only to remember your words and smack your cheek physically. You take a deep breath and get off the car before walking the perimeter again.

“Man, I must have sounded like such an ass.” You pierce the car you sat on to mark your own personal checkpoint. As a mass of flesh flies your way your take a step back out of its fly path. As the screech dies down, you can see a mass of black sauntering towards you. Great. You groan and stab the already dead (jesus christ the overkill leave the poor thing alone it's dead already) carcass one more time. You sheath your blade and cross your arms. You walk in the opposite direction of the shape following you.

Taking a back alley, you turn the corner. As you hear the flap of wings and faint footsteps, you lean against the wall. Your head turned towards the corner as you wait. When the footsteps step into your radius, you pull the figure and push him against the wall. You press your gun into his throat and glare. With an angry hiss in your voice you growl, “Following me is not what I meant by gaining my trust.”

V just stares into your eyes. Resigned, you sigh and put your gun away. You step away from him and walk off to finish surveying. As you take a single step forward, your leg gives out. Quickly, you press your hand against the cement wall. With a grunt, you walk off using the wall as support and pulling out your blade as a makeshift cane.

When you feel a hand on the small of your back, you jump out of your skin and abruptly slap his hand away. You glower at him before giving a quiet warning, “Hands off.”

“You're in no state to walk off, little wanderer.”

“I'm still in the right mind to shoot or stab you,” you note with a saccharine tone, “wanna see what comes first?”

“Easy bloodthirsty, we're just tryin’ to play nice,” the bird speaks up again.

“And I just want to be left in pea- UGH!” You fall to a knee. You must have stepped wrong in the last fight. You remove the red sweatshirt from your waist and set it down beneath you. Fully seated, you kick off your right shoe and take off your shorts. Clad in just your shirt and leggings, you groan when you can't tell what the pain is from. Careful not to move your leg much, you grunt as you struggle to remove your leggings.

“Whoa, whoa, you sure now is the right time to get naked?”

“Black leggings make it hard to see where the injury is.”

When you manage to find the waistband, you tug it off your thighs to see the large stinger-thorn from those things’ heads stuck in your thigh. Rather, your can feel it on the back of your thigh. You hiss in pain as you accidentally brush against it. The bird is gone when your eyes look over to V.

“Hey,” you look over to V kneeling beside you, “do me a solid and take these things out, yeah?”

You turn your back to him with your hands planted firmly on the wall.

“It's gonna hurt like a bitch so be quick about it.”

“Are you sure you want me to do it?”

“You see anyone else here, then you ask them to do it but right now you're the only one around for miles.”

He gently brushes his fingers down your thighs and manages to get a firm hold of the first stinger. You ball your hands into fists and grit your teeth as he plucks it out. The next one is right behind your knee. He struggles with that one, his slip accidentally digs it in deeper.

“Face me.” Deciding to oblige him, you sit back down on your sweat shirt and face him. You remove the legging from your right foot. Without warning, he lifts your injured leg and slots his hand right before the stinger. His grip on your thigh is firm as he slowly pulls it out. Pain shots up your body as he does it. You wring your shirt and shut your eyes tight. It hurt.

There's a breath of relief as he pulls the last of it out. He bandages your leg and helps you back into your clothes. You clamber back to your feet. He reads his book while he waits for you.

“...Nears and Nico call me Ace,” you began, “Dante calls me Red, your pick.”

You walk off ahead.

Your ears heating with the embarrassment of having to be in a compromising situation like that.

 

V stares at your retreating back. The slight limp as you used the wall for support isn't as obvious as before. As you disappear into the distance, he leans against the wall. A hand placed over his lips as Griffon appears from black. He hovers above V. Your skin was warm against his touch and your face while he plucked the stinger from the back of your knee was a bit too erotic to be real. Not to mention, he _really_ wanted to tease you in a more appropriate setting.

 

“Ah, about yesterday-”

“Didn't happen.” You tell V matter-of-factly. You walk off as Nico calls for you to help her. You were wearing all black today. The exception being your usual red collar and the lining of your jacket. Your sneakers don't make a sound as your run after a slight way away. V stares at your form for a moment. With his cane in hand, he watches as you come back with your fists balled and begrudgingly stand in front of him.

With some strength, you shove something into his chest. The small tied bag crinkles under your touch.

“Make sure you're eating…” You say before leaving to help Nico. From the back, he thinks he can see red on the tips of your ears and the back of your neck. Your retreating form running back to the trailer.

“Yeah Nico, I heard you the first time,” he hears you shout, “keep your damn shirt on!”

He finds himself chuckling at your informality towards her. He finds himself amused at how this would keep on.

 

The next two days go without a hitch. As the days pass, you find yourself to trust V, even if just a little. You're not sure if he returns the sentiment.

The night falls quickly. Tonight was one of the few days within the past couple of weeks where you were struggling to sleep. Your brain was fully awake. Your body didn't even feel tired. Yet, you knew you had to try and sleep. Fuck.

You groan as you toss and turn on the couch. Frustrated, you sit up and toss the blanket onto the man sleeping on the floor. Quietly, you maneuver around V's sleeping form. You gently open the door and grab your jacket. Not in a mood to properly wear your jacket, you drape it over your shoulders. You realize moments later, from the shuffle it makes as you drape it around your shoulders that it's Nero's jacket. You had no sense of sight in the dark.

Finding no reason to head back in, you keep it on.

Searching your pockets for one of the few cigarettes you had, you place one between your lips. As you pat your shorts for your lighter, a hand lights your cigarette for you. The flick of the flame and the crackle of burning ashes makes you think it's probably Nero, roused from his sleep, here for his jacket back. You look in the direction of the hand, only to see V. Under his arm is your jacket. Your dingy rose engraved lighter between his bony fingers. You mumble your thanks as you stare up at the moon.

He speaks up first, “Night isn't the safest time to be out.”

You exhale, the rush of nicotine not hitting you yet. You turn your eyes to glance in his direction. You take a long drag before dropping the butt from your lips and stepping out the flame. The near-opaque cloud that follows as you speak blows in V's direction despite your attempt to avoid being rude. You do your best to fan away the smoke, “It's late, you should be sleeping.”

“Said the pot to the kettle.”

A quiet chuckle erupts from your throat.

“Hardly, I'm not the one with bags under my eyes.”

“True, but _I'm_ not the one who yawns frequently.” He quips. You turn your head to look at him.

“ _To those poor souls who dwell in night_ , right?”

“ _When the soul slept in beams of light_ , would suit you better, Moonlight.”

You guffaw. Fully leaning your body against the trailer to face him. Crossing your arms, he walks toward you. His hand, bony and slender as it was, places your lighter into your pant pocket. The touch was short and you pull it back out. Your fingers fiddling with the lid.

“Are we on a nickname basis now, Sunshine?”

“I found it fair, seeing as,” he trails off to brush some hair from your face, “you're the one who looks ravishing in moonlight.”

“Yeah? Well, you don't look half bad yourself.” You couldn't tell if he was joking or flirting. He takes Nero's jacket off your shoulders and replaces it with your jacket. The gesture was so careful, you're sure he thinks you're made of glass- your own fault because of yesterday's incident for sure. Still, you decide to go with the flow of the conversation. He smirks as his hand finds its place rested on your cheek.

“ _Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour_ ,” he steps closer. The distance between you closing. Did you still want to go with the flow? You don't pull away. You're not even sure you're lightheaded from the nicotine or the lull in his voice. His touch fills your head with static too. It's electrifying.

Your eyelashes flutter when his thumb strokes your cheek. You manage to find your voice again, “Petty flattery.”

“No,” he corrects, “pure indulgence.”

This time he stands before you, blocking you from the moon's blue light. Your fingers find the cord of his vest, pulling him towards you. Your voice whittled to a quiet whisper, “Is this still you playing nice because if I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me.”

“Can it still be considered as playing nice if you insist on playing rough?” His voice rings in your ears. You chuckle at this. His voice really was your type. He leans into your touch as you run a finger along the cording until you reach the top most line. Your other hand finding its way to one of his belt loops. His lips a hair's breadth away from pressing against your earrings.

You humor him as his hands fall to rest on your waist. You can feel his warmth bleed through your shirt. You bite the inside of your lip as you mused in his ear, “You tell me, did we plan on going further while the night's still young?”

“ _Sweet joy befall thee_ ,” he answers with the press of his lips to your neck. He pulls away. His hands linger to pull the jacket around you fully. A smirk on his lips as he turns to go back into the trailer. He stops as he opens the door. Your hand catches on his own. He steps back out, a devilish smirk on his lips as he leans down to catch yours. You were going with the flow. This was something he started.

Yeah, you were going to go with that excuse.

As he kisses you, his hands find your waist again. His breath intermingles with yours for a heated moment before you pull away. Finally you feel the embarrassment of the last few minutes. Red rushing to your cheeks as your hands rest against his chest. He pulls you back for another kiss, pulling away to kiss along your jaw and along your neck. You gave him a hand and stood on the tips of your toes. You were aware he was tall, but you were pretty damn short yourself. He presses you against the trailer, bringing your legs around his waist. When he bites your bottom lip, you let him kiss you more deeply. Your fingers find his hair as he kisses you with tongue. You were inexperienced and you were sure it shows in the way you kiss. He was taking your first kiss in the moonlight like a thief in the night. You pull away again to catch your breath.

Between your chest heaving against him you give a lopsided smile, “ _Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged_.”

He smirks in return, knowing full well how the scene plays. You were really glad you liked your classic literature. His lips by your ear send a shiver down your spine, “ _Then have my lips the sin that they have took_.”

As he goes to kiss you again, you turn your head towards the trailer door as someone inside groans. You press a finger to his lips and bite the inside of your lip. As much as you enjoyed this little trade off, you had momentarily forgotten there was still work to be done. With a smile you peck his lips.

“Looks like we'll have to continue another time.”

“Right, shall I escort you inside, moonlight?”

“Ever the gentleman.” He lets you down as you take his hand and head inside.


	3. Jealousy and past admiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy can go many ways, but few end with a pleasant ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha.

A hum leaves your lips when something rouses you from your sleep. Deciding it was still the early hours of daylight, you turn away from the thing that woke you. It's when the thing shakes your shoulder that you process what is touching you. It's not the cold metallic hand of Nero, nor is it Nico. Nico would have shoved your shoulder to make you roll onto the floor. It's when the thing that wakes you draws circles on the nape of your neck, the touch is with the thing's nail lightly enough to tickle your skin- making you recline away from its touch.

“Sunshine, I've got like enough hours to punch your gut or land one where men don't appreciate if you don't stop.”

V pulls away for a moment before pressing something to the nape of your neck again. Replacing where his fingers were with the delicate press of his lips to your skin. You turn to face him with a tired glare. He's kneeling before you with an amused look on his features. Griffon pulls the blankets off of you as V draws the small curtains. Sunlight blares through.

“Aw, looks like the pup isn't awake yet,” Griffon teases. 

You groan and try to grab your jacket only for your hand to be caught in V's own as your lips are caught by his own. He pulls away when Nico walks past the two of you towards the driver seat. Her eyes flick to how your hand is in his and hums to herself, “Don't get nasty in my workshop.”

It takes you a moment to process the teasing.

“Who the hell you callin’ a dog, damn overgrown chicken,” you slur. This time Nero peeks through. Of course, he was a morning person and you were finally fully awake to deal with his snark. V finally lets go of your hand. You grunt as you get to your feet and fully put on your jacket. Well, you put one arm through while you shoved your elbow into the sleeve to make a makeshift armrest. Jesus, you really didn't like putting your jacket on properly. It was a comfy jacket but you were still tired.

As you step outside, you meet Nero leaning while waiting for you. Your weapons already out for you to sling. As you huff when the rapier’s sling doesn't buckle properly, Nero kneels at your waist and helps out.

“So,” you can hear some playful jab coming your way, “who recites Shakespeare while they make out?”

“Okay, to be fair, I didn't think you were awake,” you shrug still not fully processing the implication of him being awake. Nero guffaws as he finishes messing with the buckle. He stands up and helps you put on your jacket too. Begrudgingly, you put your other arm through.

“And I wanted my jacket back last night, poked my head out and you two were sucking face.”

“What did you hear?”

“Uh, think I popped in on, V quoting from his poetry book..?”

You process that. Heat burns your ears and cheeks with the recollection of last night. You groan and cover your face with your palms. You knew someone was awake! But you, with your goddamn flirting, decided to go against your better judgment. He chuckles giving you a pat on your shoulder.

“No worries, I'll keep it a secret-”

“Nico saw V hold my hand already.”

“-from Nico...oof, did she..?”

“No, she didn't do sound effects,” you fumble for a cigarette, “she did tell us not to get nasty in her workshop though.”

He plucks it from your lips.

“Bad habit to have.” You chuckle as you try to snatch it from his hand. With your short stature, he holds it above his head. Teasing you like this was his specialty. He tells you to jump for it as you try and grab it from him. You end up pressed against him when the two of you stumble backward against the trailer. You playfully tell him to give it back as he holds it above your head.

“Sunshine and I aren't a thing,” you weren't sure what the two of you were. Nero places the cigarette between your lips. Already over your desire to smoke, you put the cigarette into his jacket. The two of you share a laugh over the idle conversation. You were still resting on his chest and V pulls you off of him. Rather, Griffon tugs your collar swinging you backward. It says something about going to survey the area and making it in time to take a breath.

V walks off ahead as you waved Nero goodbye. He waves back before heading back into the trailer.

 

“Hey, you alright?” You ask as you struggled to keep up with V's long stride. You rushed to put your gloves on. Jogging to meet his pace, he slows down to turn into an alley. His fist clenches around his cane as he walks on not taking a single glance back at you. When he doesn't hear your footsteps, he turns back. You're gone.

 

Great.

Taking your blade out of its sheath you pierce an empusa head quickly before forcing your rapier down the middle. You could handle yourself while V let off whatever was bugging him. You kick the one behind you a good distance away. Hurriedly making work of the demons coming out of the woodwork, you flick the blood off your sword.

Turning back you can see more coming.

Fan-fucking-tastic. You groan as you get a running start to jump and bring down pyrobats flying down. Your feet land on a nearby car as you crouch down for the next flock to come. Growing frustrated, you finally pull out your gun. Loading up the bullets, you ride the back of an empusa to shoot down the flock. It tries to kick you off only to meet the business end of your blade.

“He can't get mad,” you tell yourself, “we were just fooling around.”

You flick the blood off again. You walk off in the opposite direction V headed in. If he wanted to be alone, that was fine, you'd cover more ground if you split up anyway.

 

“Hey, how was the-”

“Shower,” you grumble as you hand Nero your jacket. You drop your weapons off on Nico's work table and turn to the small shower. You drop your clothes in the shower and place them lazily outside of the door. The sweat and grime washing down the drain with the blood from your scrapes and dried blood from the morning scrap. You let the hot water run down your skin as you let your head drop to stare at the blood swirling down the drain.

You lean against the shower wall. Exhausted, you shut your eyes and sigh. So much for working as a pair. Your body hurts and you think you might have sprained your wrist. Yeah, you liked your solitude but you didn't like working alone. It meant double the effort and less paying attention to your body. You would bandage your wrist after you finished cleaning up. You think you got a couple of cuts on your face too. You gather water in your hands and splash it into your face.

“I'm gonna leave a towel here for ya, me and Nero are headin’ out. V said he'd be back.”

You open the door to give her a thumbs up. You turn the shower off. The squeak of ungreased knobs grinds you the wrong way but, you deal with it. Rolling your shoulders, you wrap the towel around yourself. Who gave a damn if V came back? You could watch the trailer by yourself. You were used to the sound of your own breathing and the drop of water. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Actually, the last two months have been filled with the most noise and chatter than you normally were exposed to. You didn't mind either. After all, through Nero, you met Nico and Dante.

You sit on the couch clad in only a towel while you bandage your wrist. You hiss as you tend to your more slightly major injuries. The sting of alcohol sucked but infected injuries hurt more. You thought nothing of the bruises that were left from making impact with buildings. Not wanting the towel to drop and reveal your naked form, you decide to put on your underwear.

You struggle with the compression bra more than usual. You amount it to the soreness of your body and how you were still wet from your shower. The water causing the material to bunch up. Your underwear waistband, at least, did not give you any trouble either. After finally drying off, you put a shirt on. You drape the towel around your neck. Staring down at your feet, you roll your ankles to make sure nothing else was possibly sprained. When you don't feel a sharp pain shoot up your leg, you sprawl out onto the couch. One leg hangs off the couch as the other is slightly bent, your foot settles on the armrest. You even manage to grab your beat up sketchbook. The pencil between your fingers sketching line after line of smiling faces. You even manage to draw the cityscape of Red Grave City entangled in the Qliphoth roots. Despite the hellish cityscape, you found some dark beauty in the quiet that fell over it.

Your memory even allows you the honor of drawing Nero and Nico playfully arguing. Your mind wanders as you start on a sketch of Griffon and V. Griffon descending on V's arm. Despite not having colored pencils, you hope you did the bird justice. Now if only, said bird would shut its beak for five seconds for you to appreciate the charm in its feathers.

With the warmth of the shower finally reaching the rest of you, your eyes flutter shut. Your pencil falls from your hand while your sketchbook rested open on your stomach. Your sketching hand hangs off the couch as you drift off to sleep. Still not wearing pants of any kind.

 

V returns just before night hits. His hand opens the door with a creak. Exhausted, he’s greeted to the sight of you sleeping with a sketchbook resting precariously on your stomach. One of your legs and one of your arms is hanging off the couch as your sleep on your back. He notes that your other wrist was bandaged as well as your knee. Your face was also covered in bandages.

He left you to your devices only to let you become this injured. As he closes the door behind him, he can see bruises all along your form. The larger ones are closer to your calves. Though, he’s sure you have more hidden by your shirt. He also notes how the ball of your foot was bandaged all the way to the arch. You were battered and beaten. Because he left you while he fumed. Because he was jealous of how close you and Nero were. He left you.

No, you handled yourself. You even came back to Nico's trailer. You were alive. He shakes the thought of you cornered by demons while he took care of Qliphoth roots. 

“Looks like the pup went to hell an’ back.”

“...we had our own matters to tend to,” V assures himself.

“Yeah Shakespeare, you got jealous over the superstar getting cozy.”

“I'm not jealous over the boy.” He isn't. V has  _ things _ that weren't you to worry about. He takes the sketchbook off your stomach, placing it onto the small work table along with your pencil. You roll over in your sleep. Your shirt slides up to reveal a large bruise forming on your back. You groan and roll back onto your back. Griffon goes over to the work table to loom over your sketchbook.

“Sure,” V can tell Griffon doubts him. He stares intently at the page you had fallen asleep on. The delicate strokes and faint cross-hatching shows careful memory of the subject. That subject being him. Your strokes focused heavily on his hair, you even had a sketch off to the side dedicated to his tattoos. The small note beside the sketch shows your lack of confidence in yourself, “giving up, his tats- attractive as they are, I cannot draw haha.”

Despite his best intentions, he turns back a page. As his eyes skim the contents, all he can see is a whole page dedicated to him. The way he smirked or smiles, even in the way his mouth hung open in thought. Beside each sketch a small note. Some jokingly teasing him, while others had small colored in hearts.

“this looks better irl than on paper haha”

“his voice just makes me weak lord save me”

“ooh look at mister ‘don't worry...I'll be gentle’”

The last note is what makes guilt boil in his blood. He feels guilty. As he looks upon the last note of the page, he can read it in your voice. Worry lingering in your tone as you wrote it.

“I hope he isn't mad at me for something...I want him to be happy.”

V drapes your jacket over you. You turn in your sleep again. This time mumbling for someone. As you grumble again, he can hear you call out his name. Your voice addled with sleep and the lull of exhaustion burying you. He sits at your side, his hand rested delicately on your injured wrist. He would apologize when you woke up.

 

You had woken up to the sound of Nero's snoring. 

Carefully moving V off of you, you walk over to put on your pants and shoes. Quietly, you drape a blanket over V and drape your jacket over your shoulders. Deciding to step outside, you tiptoe out, making sure that the door doesn't creak at all when you open it. You repeat the same as you close the door. This time your focus on ensuring no one wakes up.

Quietly, you sigh and sit down on the pavement. The sound of flames flickering was close by, providing you with a light source not too far away. You stare up at the sky. Your thoughts are jumbled together as you feel your body ache. There isn't a single star in the sky. The pitch black night devours any possible light you were hoping to see. As you contemplate whether or not you wanted to smoke, someone walks out to meet you, a yawn already escaping their lips.

“I'll be inside in a hot minute, go back to sleep.”

“You're making it a habit,” he yawns. He steps out of the trailer to sit beside you. Though, you're sure he would prefer standing. He settles down beside you. You want to joke and call out to him but this morning still doesn't settle with you. So, you do what you normally do in awkward situations, you move away from him and give him space.

“Hm,” you shuffle away from him. Actively sitting arm’s length away from him. Your muscles ache in protest as you move away every time he gets closer. You hiss in pain after the last attempt to move away. Something pulled in your arm. You clutch your arm and lean away from him, doubled over in pain.

“Fuck.”

“Are you alrigh-” you slap his hand away.

“I'd have been fine if you didn't ditch me, but yeah, I'm  _ spectacular. _ ”

You were angry at being ditched. Yeah, you got the shit kicked outta you, but still, you were alive and kicking. V takes your bandaged wrist and presses a lingering kiss on your hand just below the bandage. He turns to face you, with one palm upturned to rest your injured hand in. His touch is as delicate as he always is with you. He treats you like glass. You pull your hand away. This time out of frustration.

You weren't together. He had no right to act this way. You only knew him for a few days. How the fuck was he affecting you so much? You grow angry with yourself. Sighing in exasperation, you keep him at a distance. Your eyes determined as you look into his. You speak up, "What are we?"

You're not an overly emotional person. You were just you. And you wanted answers from the man sitting before you. This man who fascinated you with his sheer enigmatic personality. The same man who kissed you within an inch of his life last night. You just wanted to know something-  _ anything _ about him. V blinks for a moment. His lips part as he fails to give you an answer. You speak up for him.

"Are we supposed to be casual fuck friends? Lovers? Am I supposed to be your sexual outlet to compensate for your lack of open emotions?"

Your voice was still a quiet and desperate hush. You stand, getting agitated with each word you linger on. You were getting so emotional. Over what, a man who finds more company in his worn poetry book? You sigh, turning away from him. You pull your jacket off and place it onto him. Crouching down to meet him where he still sat to pull it over his shoulders. You lean in close, your voice is urgent and low, "You can't wait until I'm gone to give me a response."

" _ A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent _ ."

"Quoting your favorite poet," you gesture to the area, "at a time like this?"

He kisses you. His tongue swipes over your bottom lip. The sheer heat of the kiss makes you fall back. His hands caging you in as he towered over you. His back illuminated by the moon. He leans down. His breath by your ear.

"I have nothing but less than holy intentions for you," he growls. 

"So I  _ am _ just a casual escapade," you mumble to yourself. The confirmation of it is already starting to hurt. He kisses you again. The lingering taste of his lips stops you in your tracks. You can even taste your lip balm on his lips. The peach flavor lingers as he leans in to kiss you again.

"Far from it moonlight," he divulges. The corner of his lips upturned in a smirk as his hand sneaks under your shirt. You flinch away from the touch. Your hand stopping his wrist from advancing any higher.

"Actions speak louder than words V," you take his hand off your person. That slender hand that laces itself between your fingers. His lips pressing gently to your knuckles. The soft press makes a breath nearly catch in your throat. You were getting distracted by his gentle actions. 

Your voice is taken with the flicker of flames of damaged cars, "And your actions are telling me the opposite of your words."

"What would it take for you to believe me?"

"How about you stop dancing around it?" You replied.

"And if you don't like the answer?" He piques.

You pull him by the jacket. Your voice lowered to a guttural growl.

"Then we drop all ties and act like strangers," you answer, "make my day sunshine- what am I to you?"

 

He pulls away. V sits up, still straddling you. He runs his slender fingers through his hair. He sighs and fully gets off of you. He sits in front of you with your jacket still draped around his shoulders. He couldn't beat you. Your eyes refuse to meet his as he looks at your form. Your beautiful form illuminated by the pale light of the moon. Your hands interlock and fiddle with the hem of your shirt. You were nervous. He could assure you, but what good would that do? Using false reassurance merely to keep in your favors was… less than favorable.

You were capable. You may have been slow to react to some stimuli, but this didn't mean you were a fool of any kind. You were well-read, even more so than V at times. You merely kept to yourself as he did. Perhaps, that was what drew you to him. Your intelligence and desire to learn anything pertaining to the underworld had him amused. You were an entertaining person. You were a bit naive, V thinks fondly of a handful of times, and also a bit too trusting but this didn't detract from you.

He should have been able to say this, however the words are caught in his throat. He finds himself only able to turn to you. You managed to steal his focus. Your vibrant attitude muted by your desire to be polite kept him on his toes. His focus pulled in to focus on every word you lingered on. Truth be told, he had been watching you far before the two of you met a couple days ago. Though, it was because of a different reason entirely. He didn't expect you to remember.

 

_ "You seem to like your classics." He had spoken up. Perhaps he wanted to kill time. Despite his distaste for weaklings. _

_ "Yeah, I wanted to be an English major but school was never my strong suit." You grin awkwardly. Your hand fiddled with one of the rings on your left hand. Delicately filed nails painted black caught his attention as they shone in the light. Your eyes on him as he spoke to you. Your hair was longer then, and your hair was a different color. You had changed but so did he. You looked so small compared to him. _

_ He didn't have white hair nor blue eyes that were drawn to the way you crossed your legs. He didn't have his form covered by a hooded cloak. You were blindly trusting him. As if he were a civilian rather than a son of Sparda.  _

_ "I'm Ace!" You grinned as you held your hand. _

_ "...Vergil." He shakes your hand. The corners of his lips upturned in a ghost of a smile. You bought him a coffee. You even gave him the other snack you bought before you rushed off.  _

 

_ "So we meet again." _

_ "Hey there handsome," your eyes meeting his, "read any good books?" _

_ You smiled at him. Your eyes smiled in tandem with your red stained lips. You had one more button undone on your shirt this time. You had a trace of color to your skin. You pat the spot beside you. He declined and stood before you. You chatted for what felt like a chaste moment before rushing off for work again. Before you leave, you gave him half of your drink and a small bag with a note inside. _

_ "Keep these, I even put in some candy for you!" _

_ As if you were expecting him. You prepared a paper bag for him. Inside are compact folded clothes. True to the note, you placed candy inside with lemons on the wrapper. You were far too kind. _

 

V finally decides to speak up. Blinking away his reverie, he let his lips curl into a smile as he took your hands once more. You were far too trusting of him then. You were still too trusting of him now.

"I find you to be very dear to me."

"Even though we've only known each other for three days?" You're staring into his eyes now. Your brows knit together as he speaks. He smirks and laces his fingers with yours. Your nails were still as delicate as they were then. But, this time your hands were bandaged and calloused. Yet, they still retained their warmth.

"You don't remember but," his voice is gentle as he fondly remembers your kindness, "we've met before."

He continues, "And truth be told, I've been enamoured with you since."

"Don't you mean you were interested because I wasn't all over you?"

He chuckles. He takes in the curious look on your face. Your brows knit in thought as your lips curled into a frown. Those beautiful eyes glance away as you try to recall meeting him.

"No, I was interested in how  _ my  _ little wanderer had come to trust me after so little time together."

His lips are just a breath away. You finally notice as you take a sharp breath. You don't pull away though. His lips capture yours carefully. His kiss is hesitant as you stare at him wide-eyed. Confusion overpowering any other thoughts in your mind as you looked down at your hands. Both taken into his. You were confused. Perhaps it was still the doubt lingering in your mind. Or perhaps it was your thoughts still gathering. He waits patiently for you to speak, regardless of your next action.

You let out a laugh- more a guffaw than anything- as you crawl into his lap.

"Maybe you're not just pretty words wrapped in that lovely voice."

This time you kiss him . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of things. Coherent was probably not one of them.


	4. gut feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you should have told him.

His long lashes flutter so gently. Those long dark lashes must have been a gift from his mother. V's soft voice as he called out to you. The tremor in his low voice as he drowned you in his being. It was almost poetic. Your fingers tangled in his hair. That pretty black hair. His warmth bleeds through into your skin. His embrace is almost as warm as sunlight basking on you.

You never moan. He focuses all his attention on your small breaths. The way his lips part as he thinks of how to ravish you completely. His lips curling into a lopsided smile as you climax. His form towered over you. Those slender fingers that you hated days ago, those long digits languidly spread your entrance. His breath against your neck as he let his free hand roam up your skin underneath your shirt. His hand holds you flush against him. His fingers leave you, only to replace them with his length. His heat swallows you whole. You let out a gasp. His breath catches in his throat when he fully enters you. His name rolls off your tongue in the quiet of the night.

Your hands get lost in his hair. Holding onto him is all you can do to keep your sanity as he begins to move. As he moves your legs apart further, you can feel him inching into you. Your breath is shallow. You let his name roll off your tongue like a prayer. V moves slowly, his pace lets you adjust to him inside you. When his hand returns to touch you, it takes everything within your self-control to bite back a caught breath. You beg for him.

Having enough, he sets you into his lap as he slots his hands behind your knees. His pace goes erratic as the sudden movement claws a moan out of your throat. That quiet mewl catches in your breath as he moves at his quicker pace. Your turn your head to face him. V captures your lips. His heated kisses muffling the sounds you had never emitted when you were alone. You pull away when you feel yourself unraveling at his touch. You had always been so firm and strict, but this man had cut the thread keeping your sanity. His lips curled in a smile as he moans in your ear.

His commanding voice sets you far off the edge.

"Come for me, little wanderer."

 

You woke with a start. A cold sweat matted your forehead as you sat up from your spot on the couch. Your mouth felt dry and your clothes felt too hot. You took short breaths through your nose as you maneuver around V. His slender form rested against the other end of the couch. He slept seated with his elbow propping his hand against his chin. His entire being looked statuesque with the hours of daylight dancing through the thin curtain. The light highlighting the already pale skin and long black lashes.

You walk over to the small bathroom. Your thoughts draining the color from your face as you decided to clean yourself up. You watched your thoughts swirl down the drain of the shower. What were you doing? You were having dirty thoughts about Dante's client-- someone you didn't even know. You give your face a light slap. Get yourself together. If V knew what fantasies you were having, no doubt the man would tease you about it relentlessly. Probably quote some William Blake and add in some teasing of his own vast vocabulary.

Those lips and voice of his were the devil. You groan as you scrub angrily at your arms before getting out. Your clothes and towel were draped on the door. As you go to grab them, you're greeted to a hand holding them out for you. Both are nearly folded atop their hand. You give your thanks before taking it from the mysterious hand only to notice the bracelets as the hand withdraws from the gap of the door. Great, V is awake.

That means the kiss you two shared was real. The recollection slams into your head like an opened piggy bank. Porcelain pieces shatter in your head as finally, dots connect. You had kissed V, you remember that. Then, you headed inside and went to sleep. Wow, you're a real piece of work. You noticed the tent he pitched and left him hanging. Like the damned sadist, you were. The rest was… that was your imagination cursing you with what could have been.

As you change, you smack yourself again. You were a real piece of work. If it were up to you, you would have a sign on your chest that read "gets kicks from giving men boners and gets off on killing demons" harsh as it was. You walk out of the small bathroom to meet V's sleepy expression as he glances up at you bleary-eyed. Quick, say something.

"Uh." Nailed it. V finds himself yawning as he stands and gestures for you to follow. Daylight finally hitting the cityscape, despite the starry sky melting into dawn. The navy blue fading into oranges and pinks. It would be lovely if your idiocy wasn't eating at your brain. V leans against the van. His expression is obscured from where you were. You step out ahead of him, feigning to take in the sight of the sky. Stars fading out one by one. You even fake a lovelorn sigh.

Finally gaining the courage, you speak up, "The sky looks so pretty at dawning!"

"It certainly is lovely at 'dawning'."

Fuck you said the wrong word. And you gave him an opportunity to tease you. You cough and look back to him. His face in your full view. His eyes are soft as he looks over to you. His lips upturned in his lopsided smile. The one that melted your distant thoughts into warm touches and lingering kisses you would fantasize about for hours- you're doing it again. You look away for a moment before speaking again.

"Di-Did you have any good dreams?"

"I have one in mind," he piques, "a lovely angel left me with my own unholy thoughts."

"Yeah? So what does a poet deem as unholy?" He doesn't move from his spot.

"Making an angel fall from heaven to partake in carnal pleasure?" He says it as if tasting the sentence. If he is, it sounds like an angel would fall from grace at just hearing the sentence, hell, you weren't religious but you would probably get pregnant at the sound of him reading sermon. The next Virgin Mary. You're getting distracted. 

"Must be a pretty, uh, uncouth angel to leave a sinner with salacious thoughts."

He chuckles. It's the same chuckle that he gives when you decide to humor him. You've only really heard it once or twice, but the way it rumbles in his throat makes you swallow. Not the good "I'm so thirsty for this man lord save me" swallow either. V may have been attractive but that didn't deter the pit in your stomach that always made you nervous. It unsettled you, in a way that you didn't want to equate to your brief encounters with V. His hand hovers so delicately over your face. The pit in your stomach drops and you flinch. He pulls away from your face to pat your head. He chuckles as he leans down to purr into your ear, “Were you expecting something, Little Wanderer?”

"Hah!" You guffaw. You pull away.

"And here I thought," you prod a finger at him, "you would play docile for a little longer."

"You thought I was docile?"

"You don't exactly give off 'call me daddy' vibes." Stop talking. Just stop talking.

"Oh," He steps closer with his lips curling into a smile, "I'm sure we could  _ arrange  _ something."

 

You're not even sure what dawned on you to pull him into the backseat of an abandoned car. Still, you try to tug off that frustrating cording while he made quick work of your pants. His lips catching yours as he switched your positions. You tugged the cording free then went to work on his belt. All the while he kissed you within an inch of his life. His hand slides up your skin, his fingers skimming over each scar on your stomach. His hands finding a place just before your compression bra. 

You pull away from his touch. You’re terrified of what he’ll say. Would he treat you differently if he found out your designated sex? You were sure to always keep your voice low. Maybe, those tender touches that left your skin- those tender kisses to your cheeks and lips reminded you he didn’t care for your gender per se. Just as you didn’t care about the distrust lingering in your mind. 

It was brief. Frankly, you were fine with that. You were fine with it because something didn't settle with you still.

 

The plan was simple. Divide and conquer. While V and Nero made short work of the Qliphoth, you, Nico and Lady would stay back and make a route for the trailer to traverse through. Nero was already out with his sword in hand. V, on the other hand, gave you a short glance before walking out. That pit never left your stomach as he and Nero went off on their separate ways. You stayed behind to watch Nico's back. Call it what you will, but you ran after V. He wasn’t too far away. Luckily, he was taking a leisurely pace this time around, despite Griffon’s protest to pick up the pace. 

“V!” You called out. You were taking a full-on sprint to catch up to him. Your fingers just barely caught his wrist. He finally turned to look at you. He turned to face you, those mossy green eyes focused on you as you caught your breath. He rests his other hand on your shoulder.

“Did you want to tell what’s been on your mind?”

“I-I- Are you-” you stop yourself. You shake your head and smile at him. You go to the tips of your toes and kiss him. With your eyes closed and leaning into him, he kisses you back. He returns it with a more feverish touch. His lips catching your again and again until you pull away. You struggle to speak, “Just- Just be careful,  _ please _ .”

He presses his lips to your hair.

 

On June 15th, the pit in your stomach didn’t settle. And that morning, you had a feeling that V wouldn’t be coming back to you by the end of this.


	5. Untitled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words left unsaid...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short this time around. Sorry.

"Come meet me I'm at-"

_ Crash _ . Nico's van comes crashing through the subway wall. The crumbling cement leaves dust as she parks the van. There's a sound of loud clattering before he can hear your voice.

"Fucking hell Nico-!"

You angrily kick open the door. Your brows were furrowed as V stepped towards you. Your clothes are wrinkled as if you were tossed along with whatever went flying in the trailer. He can see your hands balled into fists as you regain whatever composure you had. You sigh as you stand upright before him. A smile on your face as you greet him. You brush the debris off of him and take his hand into the van.

A short reprieve as you waited for him to finish speaking to Nico. He sat down beside you. His head bumping your shoulder as he tangled his fingers with yours. You hum as your fingers run through his hair. Your gentle touch feels absolutely like his own personal heaven. The vibration of your humming almost lulls him to sleep.

"Hey," you called softly, "Nero's waiting for you."

"Will you escort me outside?"

"You can walk yourself out." He can hear the mirth in your voice. Your fingers leave his hair. He stops the groan of displeasure already in his throat.

"I'll give you all my affection the next time." You promised. He sits up. He pulls your hand to his lips. Your knuckles each get an individual press of his lips. The last lingering touch is to your ring finger. He pulls away completely before leaving. He gives you a final glance before leaving again. 

He continued to walk on as he finally reached the surface again. 

 

As he shuts the door behind him, you reach your hand out before closing it into a weak fist. If there was going to be a next time, you thought, there  _ is _ going to be next time and you're going to spoil him. You look back down to your feet as Lady walks past you to the passenger seat. Your wounds were healed up. V didn't look hurt. At least, from the quick glance you gave him, he didn't look banged up.

You really hoped it would stay that way.

 

"'This is where we part ways,'" you repeated, "He said that and left- did- was he alright?" He nodded as you wrapped up his knuckles. His bloodied knuckles. You did your best, and you could feel your grip tighten as you tried to imagine his face. Did he look at Nero while he said it? Nero winces as you finally let go of him.

"He looked pretty okay," he mulled, "Ace, I'm sure he can handle himself."

"I know, I know, I just-" you sigh resigned. You furrow your brows. A hand rests on your head as you let a nervous sigh leave your lips.

"You like him now?" Nero asks with curiosity. Though, it's the same curiosity of an older brother who is ready to beat the daylights out of a man who broke their sibling's heart. You shake your head. You pull his hand off your head with a tired smile. Looking up at him, you shrug.

He looks back at you. Nero has been a friend since childhood. You were even former knights together. Though when the whole Fortuna incident happened, you were busy evacuating people. He was exactly like a brother to you. To the point where you even joked about matching tattoos. He was severely against the idea. Blinking out of your memories, you give him a blank stare. You jokingly shoved his face away. A weak chuckle in your throat as you teased, "Stop that, nasty."

"Hey, you're the gross one," he teased back, "Your taste sucks."

"He knows his poetry," you poke his arm. He pinches your cheek.

"Yeah, of like- one poet!" He corrected. You slapped his hand away with a smile before he ruffles your hair. You reach out and put him in a lazy chokehold.

"You're just jealous 'cause he's smarter than you!" You objected. Laughter is light in your words as he jokingly taps out. You smile as he readjust his clothes. You needed that. You haven't been able to chat with him much since you moved to the outskirts of Red Grave. It was nice to see him since he's been living in Fortuna with his girlfriend. And Nico.

You pull on his sleeve, "Hey, don't make Kyrie sad by dying or whatever."

He grabs Red Queen before leaving again. You give him a glance. He ruffles your hair again with a laugh as you groan. He shuts the door behind him before leaving again. What were you doing- you had to have Nero of all people cheer you up. You grab your own blade. Buckling it to your waist, you walk out.

Of course, you let Nico and Lady know. You were going to take a quick walk around then, you would come back. That, or you would call.

 

You lean against the phone booth while tapping your foot. It took a little longer than expected to deal with some of the remaining demons around the area. After reaching above ground, you finally got used to the broken pavement and sudden rising of Qliphoth roots shooting up. They were coming in hordes. You were feeling unsettled again. You closed your eyes as you counted. Relax, you had to relax or else V and Nero would get worried. Then, Nico would tease you and so would Dante (if the wacky wahoo pizza man was still alive that is) would poke fun at your unwarranted worry. 

You recollected on a memory, a fond one. Of a cafe and of Nero.

You were sitting in the sunlight, your book left unopened as you stared out into the crowd. You were waiting. It had been days since you last saw Vergil. You liked your encounters with him. Though, they were few and in-between, he had been very punctual the last couple of days. You even bought a drink you thought he would like. But, he was nowhere to be seen.

You sighed, like you had been for the last couple of minutes. The chair in front of you was pulled up, you turned your head to see Nero. His hood pulled over his eyes as he took a sip of your drink. You sigh again and nudge Vergil's drink over to him. You gesture for him to go ahead as he pulls his hood off.

"You looked pretty depressing here by yourself," he pauses, "got stood up?"

"Uh, no, I'm here with my imaginary boyfriend that you're sitting on."

He feigns a gasp, "Only nineteen and already going crazy?!"

You slap his arm. The two of you share a laugh as he goes on about his day. 

_ Crash. _

 

The sound pulls you from your reminiscing as you look over to Nico.

"Don't-"

"You're right on time." You waltz into the trailer and sit in the empty passenger seat. Lady sits in the back while fiddling with one of the many hands hung from the ceiling. Come to think of it, you turned twenty in May. This was certainly a late present to yourself. A demon pinata party. Jam packed with blood and viscera everywhere. The bumps in the road decrease as you finally reach actual street. As you stare out your window, you can see V. But also Griffon heckling him.

Then the trailer took somersaults.

With you hitting the ceiling and then the floor. Angrily, you glare at Nico and Lady safely seated with seatbelts. Of course, you had to be the one taking the brunt of the hits. You clamber to your feet with a groan as V stepped into the trailer. You sigh and take your seat back on the couch.

"Hey there Sunshine."

"You look a bit worn, angel."

"Just a little tumble," you roll your shoulders, "wanna kiss it better?"

He chuckles as he goes to trade some items. On the way out, he gestures for you to follow. His cane "caught" on your shirt as he pulled you out. You fumble out of the door. He takes his cane back only to pull you into a kiss. 

"Is now really the time for a quickie?" You question as he kisses along your neck.

"I may not return."

"I know," you murmur, "but I'd rather do something else instead."

You rest your hand on his chest. Your mind still spinning in circles from this morning. This damn pit that plunged itself deeper and deeper into your chest. You couldn't fuck like rabbits at a time like this either. He backs away. Not far, just enough to properly look at you. Your eyebrows knit together as he took your hands into his. The gesture was so gentle, it made you feel like you were worried for nothing. Your nerves told you otherwise.

"V, I-" you sigh again. All you had to do was find the words. But you were failing. You try again, "V, what's going to happen when all this is said and done?"

"I...I'm not quite sure, I'll go back, I suppose." Something in you is screaming that he knows what will happen but he isn't saying.

"So, you mean to say," you hate this, "you'll be gone forever?"

"It isn't something I can control, and I am fully prepared for that time to come."

"You sound like you're going to-" no. No, no, no, he wasn't implying what you thought he was. Your eyes widen as you look up at him. Fear of what might happen. He was going on a suicide mission. He was going to  _ die _ . You shake your head. He couldn't. He was human. He couldn't just die.

"V, no, no-- you can't," you say aloud, "That's  _ suicide _ . You would be gone, like forever, you can't." Were you crying? You've only known this man for a couple days. Why were you crying? You rub your eyes to fend off the oncoming tears. Your voice trembles. Soft hiccups leave your chest despite yourself.

He pulls your hands away. His voice a soft lilt as he speaks, "I was fully prepared for it to happen."

You shake your head, a laugh- trembling and caught in your throat leaves you. Bitterly, you speak again, "I wanted you to meet my parents, I wanted us to go out on dates. I- We would walk in the park and have lunch in the gazebo and we would go and grab tea somewhere."

He holds you to his chest as you continue, "I would bring you clothes shopping because your tastes suck, and we wouldn't be fighting demons. Then, we would go to the beach and get you even the slightest tan, I was prepared for you to come back to me."

"Will you promise to tell me more if I do?" He murmurs.

"I was going to do all that with you and even introduce you to my brothers if they were home, because you have to promise me you'll come back."

He presses a kiss into your hair. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't because you both knew the chances. He pulls away from you. His warmth leaves your skin as he walks off. You feebly reach out for him, only to grab nothing but air before heading back into the van.

 

Nero is in the distance.

He looks fine. Nothing you wouldn't have to patch up. But, he does look like he took an Elizabeth Bathory spa treatment. You poke your head out of the window. Ready to fully tease him, "Heyo pretty lady, you lookin' for a ride?"

"Ha ha, lady in red,  _ very _ funny."

"You look like Carrie."

"And you look like a reject RPG character." You poke your head back in to meet him at the door. He looks very unamused with how drenched and stinky he is. You pinch your nose and fan the smell away from you. He held his arms out ready to hug you. A devious smile on his face.

"C'mon you look like you need a hug," you duck past him to run outside where you couldn't be cornered as easily. You run as fast as you can while Lady and Nico protest to the both of you fooling around. You nearly got caught as he comes at you while you listened to Lady chide you. You give a breathless laugh as you hop behind him. You run to the trailer before Nero can catch up. Grabbing a bloodied shirt, you throw it at him.

"You're not getting no damn hug from me nasty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I radiate dumb bitch energy (tm) and I project that here.


	6. empty mental state

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> emptiness was all you really had for yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> getting back to it now that it's school time for kiddies and I'm not in any type of education now. It's brief but I'm getting back into it.

You stare out blankly at the chaos before you.

Your parents arguing. It's like clockwork, your mother comes home and your father doesn't want to hear it. Your mother always starts it. Accusations of cheating and accusatory statements of not helping out. It turns to white noise to you. Empty. You feel empty as you sit in your room. Talking turns to shouting and screaming. Your mother is in tears as your father walks out. Years of this repeat and rinse cycle. You've grown numb to it. 

Is that why you were so numb to now? The screeches of demons as they died by your weapons. As those same screeches were by your hand. The high is incredible. That rush of power coursing through you as you take down enemy after enemy. As such, you hopped out of the van the next chance you got. While you were stressed out by V's sudden admittance to the acceptance of him dying, your brain short circuited and you eagerly jumped into a horde. Nico would throw a fit at you jumping out while the vehicle was still moving, but all of that useless thinking is lost as you pierce through.

The bloodcurdling scream that leaves your mouth is more than enough to get your blood running hot. It tears through your throat. Despite your wrist and all the lost focus from your boy thoughts, it dissipates with the precise slices of your blade. Almost too eagerly, you cut down demon after demon. No fancy footwork, not theatrics, just pure bloodthirst gathered in your desire not to think. If you stopped to hesitate for a second, you would lose.

"Come on weaklings gimme all you got!"

All of it is lost in the red in your eyes. Those screams turn to white noise as your throat goes hoarse. You had power and adrenaline coursing through every part of you. This was like cutting through meat with less of the stillness. Pulling out your rifle you shoot down the fliers in your way. If you could, you would probably be listening to music right now. This was just another job. No time for emotional attachment, no time for emotions at all. You can feel your lips upturn into a sickly grin. The same one that lets blood fleck onto your teeth and the corner of your lips.

One throws you into a building. Another throws itself at you to keep you there. You don't care about their names. What matters is the blood that will go onto your blade. The viscera to cut through. You shove it back and force the tip of your rapier down its gaping maw, impaling it from mouth to the back of its head.

Not enough. Not enough. Not enough. More. More. More. More.  _ More. _

You need more blood to spill. You need more. It wasn't enough. It's not enough. More. That eagerness spurs you on as one head splits in two sideways. Like butter. As the screeching dies down, you swipe the gore off your blade. Your lungs are on fire and your throat hurts everytime you breathe through your mouth. A few scrapes and bruises plus a bloodied nose that caked blood into your nostrils are nothing to laugh at.

Yet, you manage to find it in yourself. As your lungs burn, you run a hand up your face. A chuckle turning into outright laughter. Maniacal and painful. Everything hurts. You throw your head back laughing as if you were some cliche villain. So caught up in your desire that you forgot your surroundings. God, everything fucking hurts. You slouch back down when your laughing fit is over. Ringing in your ears catches up to you. You were so emotionally exposed. It takes you a moment to compose yourself. As if the blood on your shoes and in your hair were just a slight nuisance.

If V was willing to die for his cause, so be it. You wouldn't be there for the heartbreak it would cause you in the end. You would cut off the romantic feelings then. It wasn't as if you could say you love him. You've only known him for a few days. There wasn't anything to enforce those feelings rationally. Your sickening grin turns into a frown.

"...I'm showing weakness," you mutter to yourself.

 

Perhaps, it was the urge to promise you something that compels V to rush over to the sound of your voice. The pained screaming that makes him rush over to you. As he makes it through the crumbling landscape, he can see a lone figure standing alone doubled over in laughter. Their hair covered in blood as they stand upright with their shoulders back. He watches as the figure walks off.

"Oof, looks like the brat finally snapped," Griffon notes, "You sure know how to pick 'em."

The figure doubles back and walks in his direction. As they get closer and closer, he can see your small form. Your rapier dragging against the pavement. The quiet sound of metal again cement makes a pit settle in his stomach. Something about your form didn't look right. His suspicions are confirmed when he can see your eyes. Your happily vibrant and emotion-filled eyes have gone dark. The shine in them devoured by the darkness of your irises. You brush past him mumbling an apology. Despite your upright and calm posture as you walk, it buries the pit in his stomach deeper.

As he watches your back, it looks and feels all too familiar. As if he was watching a reflection of his former self. It was as if he was watching Vergil. As if a shard of that man found its way into you. He bites his lip for a moment. His hand finds your wrist. For a moment, you stop mid-step. You pull your arm away.

"What, you got something to say V?"

"Moonlight, are you alright?"

"I'm fine- is that it?" You don't take a single glance back at him. You place the blade back into its sheath. Not a single word leaving you after. He isn't sure what compels him to hold you. His arms wrap around you. As if time had stopped functioning for the moment that he held you. He had glanced into a reflection of himself. He didn't want you to tread on that path as he held you against him. Your clean scent lost amongst the scent of blood.

"Please, don't tread down that path," he has doubts you knew what he meant. At the same time, he wants you to know how it hurts him. V is certain Vergil wouldn't want you to tread down the same path he did. He speaks up again, "You of all people do not deserve that pain."

"But you're willing to die if it means defeating Urizen? That sounds like hypocrisy, we've only known each other for a few days-- you don't know me V."

You were right. You may have only known him for a few days, but he knew you for longer than that.

"Going on a warpath is hardly beneficial for either of us."

"If it isn't beneficial for you then don't follow me, let me go and I'll happily stay out of your way."

" _ Please _ ."

"I am asking you to stay out of the way."

He can't say a word. How could he? He put you on this path without regard towards you. He bites his lip. Perhaps he could stop you. Calm you down, and make it so you could listen to reason. Yet, the words fail him. He feels so helpless. No, now was not the time to regret and deliberate. He pulls your wrist again but instead of just pulling you in to hold you, he kisses you. His lips press against yours as you try to struggle against him. Then, your arms go slack. The sheer heat of the moment compelled him to do this.

He can taste the copper in your mouth, as you grab a fistful of the leather from his vest, everything stops. Time has no reason in this kiss. It was just you and him enveloped in your heats. His hands move from your wrists to your waist. As you push him against a wall, he hums into the kiss. Your virgin tongue losing against his as he dances around yours. He pulls away in time to see the thin thread of saliva and blood catch onto your bottom lip. Your tongue was still slightly out, your cheeks were red with heat as you finally close your mouth. You wiped away the blood from your lip with the back of your palm.

Glancing away from him as you finally gather yourself. He speaks up, "I'm not asking you to stay away, just to practice caution."

"Because making out is practicing caution."

"Please, I cannot always be around to bring you back to your senses."

"I don't need you to bring me to my senses, nor do I need your fucking pity V." You hadn't called him sunshine at all during the conversation. You walk off as he finds himself lost in thought again. What was he to do? Had he genuinely angered you past the point of saving? It seems all rationale is lost as you both go your separate ways.

 

You find refuge on a far off building rooftop. As you watch the ground, you can see the speck that is V and his familiar. You breathe a sigh as you let your knees fall to the ground. Your whole body giving in to the temptation of melting into jelly. All that anger welled up inside you was lost with that kiss. Fuck, you never kissed like that before..! You've hardly kissed a guy ever. Well, V has taken all of your firsts. First kiss, first time...yeah...so much for getting rid of weakness.

You fall face first onto the cement.

"Fuck."

 

"Where the hell did you go?" Lady greets you with a teasing remark. You were still bloodied and sweaty. You shrug and let your hands clumsily drop your weapons onto Nico's work table. Like clockwork, you hand her a piece of demon for something of use. Nero would appreciate the extra hand.

"Seriously," Nico chimes in after a long drag of her cigarette, "you can't just storm off like that, Ace."

"I know Neeks, just, gimme some space yeah?"

"Alright, I won't bug ya about it, just let a girl know next time you wanna jump outta the van into a horde of those fuckers."

"Next time I promise." You walk into the shower. Peeling off layers of clothes, you toss them off to the side. A familiar knocking chimes you in on the person on the other side of the door. You nudge the door open as Nero walks through. He strips of everything but his underwear.

"I don't get why you can't just stay in the van with the girls."

"Because I've never been the type to sit still."

"And that's why I'm here in my underwear to make sure you don't bust your head open."

You give him a weak pat on the shoulder as you press your head against one of the shower walls. Your legs were already giving out as Nero rushes over to catch your naked form. There was only so much you could do right now. He swears under his breath as he helps you rise off the blood that soaked deep into your clothes leaving blotches on your skin.

As you place your head on his shoulder, you can see the splotches of bruises beginning to form. Blooming along your stomach and chest, deep cuts in your arms, scrapes where skin got caught on pavement leaving light scratches that stung, it was a wonder you made it back in one piece. Everything hurts. You groan as his calloused fingers press a little to hard against certain cuts.

You may not have been human, but you could only tolerate so much pain in one sitting. You hold onto his forearm as he helps you stand again, this time his knee nudges your legs slightly apart to clean off the injuries on your thighs and down your legs. You grunt as he places you onto his leg with slight pain. You speak up, "Sorry you have to do this."

"I get you don't like people knowing you're a technically girl, but I'm a guy too y'know."

"I know you wouldn't do anything," you laugh, "you love Kyrie too much to do it."

"It still doesn't help, if Dante or V were in this situation, they would probably take advantage." You understand what he's getting at. Right now, you were unguarded. Tired and injured, held up by a man, anyone would misunderstand. Yet, here you were. Any other person would take advantage of you. It couldn't be helped. Neither Nico nor Lady knew of your gender and you wanted to keep it that way. Even if it means the loss of your dignity by having Nero help you shower. 

"I owe you big time Nears, I just-- sorry."

"It's fine but be careful next time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dabs and kisses for peeps that were excited for the next chapters


End file.
